Rising commodity prices: MoC likely to set up panel to exercise MEP restrictions

ISLAMABAD: Commerce Ministry is likely to constitute a committee to exercise restrictions of Minimum Export Price (MEP) of commodities keeping in view the increasing domestic retail/wholesale prices or production disruptions in the country due to frequent changes in international prices, and domestic production patterns, well informed sources told Business Recorder.

The Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950 empowers federal government to prohibit, restrict, or otherwise control the Imports and Exports of goods. Exports from Pakistan are regulated under Export Policy Order (EPO), 2022, whereby certain goods are either banned for export or restricted in as much as they are required to fulfill certain conditions.

Schedule-I and II of EPO, 2022, list these goods respectively.

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The other regulatory tool which can be used for restricting exports keeping in view the domestic/international prices and local demand is through imposition of Minimum Export Price (MEP) by Ministry of Commerce.

Ministry of Commerce may exercise the option of imposing MEP keeping in view the increasing domestic retail/wholesale prices or production disruptions in the country due to frequent changes in international prices, domestic production patterns and on occasion exporters mis-declaring.

In the aforementioned circumstances, Ministry of Commerce has to take some urgent remedial measures for restricting exports of some items after consultation with the stakeholders in order to stabilize the prices.

This may require constituting a Committee comprising officers of Ministry of Commerce and Federal Board of Revenue with option to co- opt other member(s) as required on case to case basis for administering the restriction of MEP.

Ministry of Commerce has also sought comments from the Federal Board of Revenue, which has concurred with the proposal of Ministry of Commerce, and recommended addition of Director General (Customs Valuation) as member.

The Commerce Ministry has proposed that a Committee comprising Executive Director General (EDG), Ministry of Commerce and Director General Customs (Valuation), FBR, along with option to co-opt any other member(s) on case to case basis, may be constituted for administering the restriction of MEP. This specific provisioning will be added in the Export Policy Order (EPO), 2022, accordingly.

According to Commerce Ministry: (i) the federal government, may, by an order published in the official gazette and subject to such conditions and exceptions as may be made by or under the order, prohibit, restrict or otherwise control the import and export of goods of any specified description, or regulate generally all practices (including trade practices) and procedure connected to the import or export of such goods and such order may provide for applications for licences under the Act, the evidence to be attached with such applications, the grant, use, transfer, sale or cancellation of such licences and the term and manner in which and the periods within which appeals and applications for review or revision may be preferred and disposed of, and the charging fees in respect of any such matter as may be provided in such order; and (ii) no goods of the specified description shall be imported or exported except in accordance with the conditions of a licence to be issued by the Chief Collector or any other officer authorized on this behalf by the federal government.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024